WATCH: Black And Maltese! Three Youths Speak Out About Their Experiences With Racism In Eye-Opening Video
Three Maltese youths, Jacob, Yannick, and Rashed, opened up about their experiences with racism in Lovin Malta and VSQUARED Media‘s very own collaborative video ‘Black And Maltese’.
All three youths have been on the receiving end of a wide variety of racial slurs – from the infamous “go back to your country” all the way to “monkey”.
The youths’ wise words stood to show how racism can happen through subtler means – which are still as hurtful.
“They can start by just calling you ‘iswed’ or ‘black’,” said Yannick, “as if that’s sort of a bad thing.”
In light of this, the trio went on to explain why they believe that the Black Lives Matter movement is particularly relevant to Malta at this day and age.
“If you don’t think that we need to say BLM,” highlighted Jacob, “then obviously your eyes are not open to the situation.”
Having said that, living in Malta has offered its fair share of positive experiences for all three youths.
“My friends are all white and they don’t treat me any differently,” Rashed said. “For them, I’m not black, I’m Rashed.”
Similarly, Jacob went on to praise the friendliness of our island nation, where “everyone is so close to each other, so it brings a sense of community.”